The Jones That No One Knows
by WahineKaeru
Summary: Jughead and Betty walk upon someone on FP's porch. Jughead is in for a surprise when the person revealed themself as family to him. This was someone he had never heard about, but it seemed the parents know something. Secrets come to the forefront and Jughead is left in a tailspin to figure out why, on top of trying to get his father out of jail and solving the blossom murder.
1. Chapter 1

Jughead and Betty walked slowly toward FP's trailer when Jughead noticed someone sat on his top step. He stopped Betty and made his way up to the person and cleared his throat. The person looked up and he noticed it was a woman. She had black rimmed glasses that had neon green sides. Her hair was up in a bun and the back of her head was shaved. He saw her look behind him and he automatically reached back to feel that Betty was right there. The woman smirked. Her eyes were lined with make-up and her lips were blood red.

She stood up and he saw she wore a leather jacket, tight black jeans and a black v neck shirt. There was a snake pendant that hung from a silver chain on her neck. Her hair was a dark color. It looked almost black in the dim light of the porch light.

"You must be Jughead. FP said I'd find you here." She said as Jughead nodded mutely.

"Look boy, you and I can go round for round later. Right now though, I gotta pee. So you gonna open the door or not?" She asked as Jughead nodded again and maneuvered around her with Betty right behind him.

He opened the door and she ran into the house past him to the bathroom. Three minutes later she was out and standing before him.

"Who are you?" He asked as the woman smiled genuinely.

"Aryann Jones, your Aunt." She said smoothly.

"What? I don't have an aunt." He said in disbelief.

"Yeah, ya do. Look, Kid, I got a call from FP saying that he needed someone to take you in. This is a big favor seeing as I dropped everything to come back to this Podunk town. You need someone to take you in so you don't get saddle with idiotic foster parents like your dad and I did. He and I agreed that you'd be better off with me than with anyone else. I promised your dad that if he ever needed one big favor I'd drop what I was doing to help out. After all family is family and once a serpent, always a serpent. Now I haven't been back here in twenty years. So this is all strange to me, just as it is to you." She explained as everything Jughead knew rolled over in his head. "Now you can ride with me or not, but I've got to talk to Fred Andrews."

"We'll go. I've got to get home anyways and I live next door to the Andrews." Betty answered for both of them.

"What do I call you?" Jughead asked randomly.

"Ant. Everyone does. Everyone here at least." She said wistfully.

The three were about to head to the door when three distinct knocks sounded. Aryann went to the door and threw it open. "Do you dickheads have any idea what fuckin' time it is? I could've been sleepin assholes!" She said with a smirk.

Gasps sounded out as all three of them filed out. "Ant? What are you doing here?" The one in front asked as Aryann shook her head. "You were never supposed to come back. FP said you left for good."

"I'm here to take care of the kid. My brother called and said he needed someone to take care of him. So until he gets out, I'm here." She explained as the one in front nodded in agreement.

"I came to bring this by. It's FP's jacket." He said as he handed it to her. She took it and handed it to Jughead.

"Put that up. He'll want it when he gets out." She said as Jughead took the jacket back inside. "We're going to go see Fred. So you all can skedaddle now."

"Snakes don't shed their skin so easily." The man said as she rolled up her sleeve to reveal her serpent tattoo.

"Or sometimes at all." She said as the others all nodded. "Now we gotta go, so head on."

The rest of the serpents turned around and left the three of them. She turned to the two teenagers and nodded to a nice dodge truck. They piled in and she drove off.

They drove for a ways in silence until she kicked on the radio and an old song came on. The teens just looked to one another before they finally came up to the Andrews' home. "Well, here's our stop." She said as they all got out. She walked ahead of them and up the steps. She knocked on the door and Fred opened it. The look on his face was as if he was seeing a ghost.

"Ant?" Fred asked as he noticed the drop dead gorgeous woman that she had turned in to.

"Hey Freddie. It's good to see you." She said as she hugged him and he hugged her just as tight.

"Archie's upstairs kids." Fred said as Jughead and Betty started for the stairs, but listened as the two started to speak. "So you back for good or…?"

"Just until my idiot brother's out." She said casually. Jughead felt protective of his dad. "What's going on? He was vague on the details of his imprisonment."

Fred explained about the blossom murder and the evidence against her brother. She shook her head and sighed. "I told him not to do anything stupid. He fucking knew better. Alright, Thanks Fred. I'll come by some other time to really catch up."

"That's good. It's been a long time, Ant. I've missed ya." Fred said as Aryann smiled to him. Betty and Jughead made their way up the stairs and opened up Archie's door.

Archie looked surprised to see them, but smiled anyway. "What brings you two here at this hour? I thought you were supposed to meet that new foster family?" Archie asked as Betty and Jughead moved to sit down in his room.

"My Aunt Aryann came to stay with me till my dad gets out." Jughead said sourly.

"I'm sorry, Jug." Archie said genuinely. Jughead nodded and looked to his oldest friend.

"Yeah, no worries, Arch." Jughead said with a small smile.

"I didn't know you had an aunt." Archie said confused.

"Neither did I, but apparently everyone else knew. She left town before I was even born. She's been gone from here for twenty years." Jughead said with the limited information on his aunt.

"That's crazy." Archie said as Jughead scoffed.

The three of them talked for a while before Fred and Aryann came up the stairs. "You ready, Jug? We've got to get going back home." She said as Jughead nodded and stood up.

"I've got to get home too." Betty said as she kissed Jughead on the cheek and gave him a tight squeeze.

"Bye guys." Archie said as he looked to his friends' backs. They both said bye to him. Aryann smiled to Archie and gave him a wink. She then turned to Fred and hugged him one more time. "I'll show myself out, Fred. I'll come by soon to talk." She said as Fred nodded.

The moment the three made it out of the house a voice that Aryann hadn't heard in so long yelled from next door. "Elizabeth Cooper! Get in the house now."

The three looked over to see Alice Cooper stood before them. She looked at Jughead with disdain before her eyes roamed to meet a pair of dark brown eyes that she hadn't seen in so long. "Ant?"

"Hey, Alice. See the snobbish northside did wonders for ya." Aryann said with a smirk at how uncomfortable Alice looked.

"Ant, we don't need the likes of you on our street." She said haughtily.

"Yeah, well babe, look in the mirror and say that. Remember snakes don't shed their skin so easily, Alice." Aryann said with a sneer that would rival FP's. "Get in, Jug. The farther we are from posers the better I'll be."

Alice's eyes widened in shock before she clenched her teeth and turned red. Betty had been present through the whole exchange before her mother rounded on her. "And what were you thinking going off with him?"

Betty rolled her eyes and turned around to head to her room for the night.

"Look, I know you like the girl and all that, and I'm sorry if that put a damper on your relationship, but that woman seriously knows how to piss me off. She always has." Aryann said as Jughead let a small smile come to his face at Alice Cooper having her ass handed to her.

"It's alright, Aunt Aryann." Jughead said as he watched his newfound aunt smiled and reach over to squeeze his shoulder. It amazed him that she acted like his dad did sometimes. "How close were you?"

"Very close. He and I were always together. We did a lot of things I'm not proud of, but it was fun." She said as she reminisced with her nephew. "You know when you were born it was the happiest I had ever heard him. When he called to tell me about you I told him I wanted pictures. You dad would never let me come back, no matter how much I wanted to. Told me I had a gift and to make something for myself. Serpent life wasn't meant for me. I was hurt, but now I'm older and I see the wisdom he had at the time. I was sixteen when I left here. Hitched a ride to New York City and used the money I had to make my way. Eventually, I landed a good job and stuck to it before I entered college. Went to NYU to study English Lit and a bunch of other courses on writing. Got published when I was twenty-one.  
I used that money for my first big purchase."

"What did you buy?" He asked engrossed in her story.

"The White Wyrm." She said cheekily.

"You own the Wyrm?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yep. I own it, but FP runs it. I know it's in good hands." She said as he nodded slowly.

They pulled up to the trailer and got out. "We can finish story time later. Right now, I think we both need to hit the sack. You got school and I gotta check on my building." She said as Jughead nodded and they both yawned at the same time. She smiled and nodded for toward the trailer.


	2. Chapter 2

Jughead woke up to the smell of bacon. He wondered if he had slept at Archie's again. Then the night before swirled up from his memories and he jumped up. He ran into the kitchen to see his Aunt Aryann standing at the stove. "Ant?"

She wore shorts and a long dress shirt. Her hair up in a bun again as she cooked the food that had smelled delicious to him. She turned to see her nephew and smiled. "Figured you might be hungry." She said as she pointed to the small table in that was off to the side. His eyes widened and he almost choked with the amount of food on the table. "When did you buy all this?" He asked and she smiled.

"On my way down yesterday. I figured you would need some food. FP's never been housewife material after all." She said with a grin.

"Will you tell me more?" He asked as he moved to sit in one of the chairs.

"Yeah, but first time to eat." She said as had a plate full of bacon.

"That's a lot of food." He said as he stared hungrily at the food in front of him. He felt like he had done died and gone to heaven.

"Your dad said you like to eat." She said as she looked at her watch. "Better chow down now. I've got to get to your school to make sure they know that I'm back in town."

"You got your license for the bike?" She asked when they had finished eating and getting dressed. They had made their way outside. She remembered her brother saying he stashed her bike, which he had taken care of, behind the trailer under a tarp.

"Yeah, dad made me get it last year." He said as she nodded. "You take the bike and I'll get mine. We'll ride together."

He smiled at her. "Alright. Are you sure my dad won't be mad?"

"Yeah I'll tell him I told you to drive it." She said as she moved to the back of the trailer and pushed her bike up to the railing beside the door. They started their engines and took off. The two of them flowed good together down the road and soon enough, too soon in Jughead's opinion, came up to the school. He parked the bike and pulled out the tarp from the satchel.

"Come on, kid. Let's go see what these crazy snobs have to say." She said with a grin that he agreed mirrored. The two walked into the building and everyone stopped. It was at that moment he noticed that she had on the same leather jacket and he finally saw it was a Southside Serpent jacket. One that was too small to be his dad's. Archie, Veronica and Betty all turned to see Jughead along with Aryann as they took off down the hall toward the school office.

"Who's that with Jug?" Veronica asked as Archie and Betty noticed that their friend looked happier than he had been lately. The woman slung her arm around Jughead's shoulders and they saw a rare genuine smile on his face.

"That's his Aunt. Aryann Jones." Betty said as Archie kept watch.

"I didn't know he had an Aunt." Veronica said as Betty and Archie nodded in agreement.

"We didn't either." Archie confirmed.

"He didn't even know. Seems like his dad kept a lot of secrets from him. She knew about him though." Betty said as Archie and Veronica looked on until the two disappeared.

"Does she know about Jellybean?" Archie asked and Betty nodded.

"Yeah, seems that FP told her all about his kids. She's a writer from what Juggie text me last night." Betty said as she thought back to the texts they had sent back and forth.

"That must be where he gets if from." Veronica said as Betty nodded.

Jughead and Aryann walked into the office and the secretary looked up. "Jughead? Who is this?"

"His new guardian for the time being. He's not transferring." She said before Jughead could answer the lady. "Here's the papers of guardianship."

She handed the papers to the secretary and then turned to Jughead. "Alright, kid. I'm gonna head out for now. Be careful on that bike, your dad'll have both of us on pike if something happens to it." She said as she leaned over to kiss his forehead before she left the way she came. "Have fun."

He looked at her strangely before his cheeks burned. Was this what it was like to have your 'parents' embarrass you in a good way? He wondered before he turned to the secretary. "She's seems nice." The secretary said with a smile. Jughead nodded minutely before he turned around and followed suit and out the door to the hallway. He looked up to see Hermione Lodge and Hiram at the school entrance. His aunt stood there with a scowl on her face. He got closer and he heard the beginnings of conversation.

"Aryann." Hiram said before Hermione smiled overly sweet to her.

"Dick, Latino Barbie." Aryann said as a smirk crossed her face at the impassive look Hiram gave and the pissed look Hermione had.

"What are you doing back here?" Hermione inquired.

"Not really any of your business, Lassie." Aryann said as she shoved passed them and out the doors.

"If she's back in town, this can only mean something bad." Jughead heard Hermione say.

"If she causes trouble, we'll take care of her." Hiram said with a smirk and Jughead felt fury rise within him.

He turned away and stalked down the hall. He was pissed at the casual tone Hiram Lodge used. He was pissed that he finally had someone who seemed to actually care about him and they wanted to take her away. Within the last day she had been more of parent to him than his own had been in a long time.

Second stop of the day was to the Sherriff's office. She waltz in like she owned it and looked directly into Keller's eyes. "Where is my brother, Tom?" She asked as Tom Keller looked startled at the person in front of him.

"Ant? When did you get back in town?" He asked curiously.

"Last night, now tell me where he is." She said flatly. He nodded and stood up.

"He's in a cell until the hearing." Tom said as they made their way to the back of the station. They came to a steel door and he unlocked it.

The door swung open and FP jumped for a moment before a laugh was heard. A laugh he hadn't heard in person since she bought the Wyrm some years ago. "Ary?"

Aryann Juliet Jones smiled at her big brother. "Tom open the cell for Christ's sakes. I haven't hugged my brother since I was twenty-one. I'd like to do that without bars between us." She said as Tom smirked. He remembered the spitfire she used to be.

"Alright, but not a word from either of you." He said as he unlocked the cell doors and pulled them open. "I'll leave you to your visit."

Tom left and Aryan smiled. "Seems you got yourself in quite the pickle big brother."

"Yeah, tell me about it. How's Jug?" He asked quietly.

"Waiting for you to come home. Look, I bought a house in Southside. No one's touched it in years. It's up to date and I'm moving back." She said as she sat down on the little bed.

"For good?" He asked shocked.

"Yeah, for good. You need me and believe it or not I miss it here." She said with a sigh.

"Why the sudden change?"

"That boy that I just dropped off at school is a reason and I've got two more that are more than enough." She said as FP nodded.

"How's Charles?" He asked hesitantly.

"Good, he's in college now. He is a smart one." She said as FP let out a sigh.

"Look, since I'm moving back. He is too. He's got all his exams done this semester and can transfer his credits to one of the colleges around here. He's fine with it. He wants to actually meet his father and hopefully his mother. I mean he's talked to you a lot, but he's never actually met you." She said as FP just looked on. He's one of the reasons, the other is to make sure you're not fuckin' up my baby."

FP smiled at his sister. Her _baby_. The Whyte Wyrm. "Are you going to tell Jug about his brother?"

"Yeah, I am. He needs to know. Alice, I'm not so sure. She seems to be on a self-righteous kick and I don't want him involved in whatever heinous plans she has." Aryann said as FP nodded in agreement. "He's a good kid and I won't let her sink her claws into him to turn him into a Stepford Nazi."

"Yeah, I get it."

"Alright now tell me exactly what happened. I need to know and you know better than to lie to me. We lie to everyone else, but not each other." She said.

FP looked toward the window and let everything spill out. After he was done four minutes of silence nestled between them. "Is that all?"

"I have, had, a plan B, but I think you need to take it on." He said as he looked to her. "Go to Joaquin and tell him you need Plan B."

She nodded and stood up. "Do you need anything?"

"A home cooked meal." He said and she nodded.

"I'll bring some for Tom so he doesn't feel left out." She said with a smile. "I'll catch ya later, brother."

FP nodded and hugged his sister again with a lighter feel to his heart.

Aryann walked with a lightness to her step as she made her way into the bar. Now she felt home. She felt and knew she was home. This place was all she had wanted. She looked to see Hog-eye at the bar and waved. His eyes grew before he moved to the side and walked around it. He scooped her up in a tight hug and whispered to her. "Welcome home, baby girl."

She laughed and squeezed him back. "It's good to be home."

"I need to talk to Joaquin." She said as he nodded and pointed to the back table. There sat a young Serpent, who looked sad.

She made her way back to him and he looked up. "You Joaquin?"

"Yeah, who's askin?" He narrowed his eyes at the woman in front of him.

"Names Aryann Jones, but you can call me Ant. I need Plan B." She said as she raised an eyebrow at his shocked look. "Come on boy. We haven't got all day."

He stood quickly and they took off back outside.

Jughead looked around and felt like a new person. It was a strange feeling for him, when just yesterday he was trying to think of a plan to get his father out of jail. He didn't trust anyone, but his dad, Fred, Archie and Betty. Veronica was still on the edge of the closeness and Kevin was here and there. His cynical nature just wouldn't let him form those bonds with them.

He looked to see Archie and Betty give him a smile and he felt a smile form on his face. It was a strange feeling. He'd never been one to feel complacent about a situation, but always on edge. It was light feeling that he had never found and it was scary to say the least.


	3. Chapter 3

Jughead was in shock. Not just shock, but he thought he was having a heart attack at the same time. He unconsciously felt over his left arm to see if it was numb. It was not. Which meant maybe he was having a stroke. He raised both arms and said, "I love rubber duckies."

It was at that moment he heard a laugh and looked over to see his Aunt Aryann was holding her hand over her mouth, which no doubt covered a giant smile.

He looked down once more before it all started to finally process for him. It had been four days since she first came and now she sat here calmly and told him he had a brother. But not just any brother, an older that had been living with his aunt all his life. Four years separated them and the most shocking part? He, as in Charles Jones, was also brother to Betty and Polly Cooper. That meant his dad had done Alice- He stopped his train of thought there with a disgusted look.

His aunt on the other hand laughed out loud. "As absurd as it sounds to your ears, which I find hilarious. You and your girl share a brother. He knows about you and Betty and Polly and Jellybean. Strange, but no less hilarious."

Jughead looked down at the smartphone in his hand and sighed at the boy that stood beside his aunt in the photo. He saw sharp blue eyes that contrasted greatly with his jet black curly hair. He had a giant smile on his face as he stared at the camera. His aunt had her customary smirk as she stood next to him with her arm around his middle. He was taller than her by almost a foot. "That was taken four months ago. We were waiting in line to watch a Broadway show. I forget which one, but it was one of them. He wants to meet you." She said with a soft smile. "I won't push you, but you need to know that he wants to get to know you and his sisters."

Jughead nodded and looked up to his aunt. "When is he coming?"

"We leave tomorrow. You will travel with me to New York. As much as I miss my brother I don't really want to stay in his home. So we, meaning the three of us, will be moving to a house on this side of the tracks." She said with a smile. "It's a six bedroom home, used to be an apartment-kind of place, but has been since closed due to being sold. That was to me about four years ago. I've had it updated. I know you're not comfortable with money or whatever, but at least let me get you some better clothes. At least ones that fit. You look like a hobo and no nephew or niece of mine is going to be looking like a hobo. I've already sent your sister some clothes."

Jughead snapped his head to her. "It's alright. I'll be alright with the clothes I have now."

"I understand it's uncomfortable, I get it. I was there too. You need to learn to let people in and I know the saying, when you open yourself up you let in the good as well as the bad, yada yada yada; but you really need to let me in so I can help. I'm am here to stay and I'm not going anywhere. I know you've had people let you down in the past, but trust me kid when I say that I am going nowhere. No matter how much you push me out or pull away, I'll be here. Your brother can attest to that. Before your dad got so bad, he was the same way. He would push me out to keep me away from anything he did and he knew how I felt about his goings on." She said as she got on her knees in front of him and held his hands.

"What happened to make you leave?" He asked quietly.

She froze for a moment. "Our parents never wanted us. It was hard, but it was fine because I had my big brother. We would stay off and on with Fred or with Alice at the time. She and I used to be friends believe it or not. Southside didn't have a high school at that time. It was just him and I for the most part. We had a hard life. I'm not gonna lie. A couple of times it was touch and go for us, but we made it through. We made a life as best as we could. When turned fifteen I had grown into my skin and being a Serpent at that young of an age was hard. I've done things I ain't proud of. I'll give you that. But I always had one person to fall back on. I had started to date a junior and he was an asshole to boot. You know him as Hiram Lodge. We had a love/hate relationship. I hated him as much as I loved him. He had a way of making me feel inferior and that was a feeling I had never felt. I always felt pride coming from the southside, but he found a way to exploit it and turn it into something dark. We kept it up for about a year and half. Into his last year of school he dumped me and I went crazy. I was on a bender for aobut two months before your dad threw me down and shook it out of me. He told me to leave and never come back. He gathered up as much money as he could and sent me to an orphanage of sorts called the 'Sisters of Quiet Mercy.' It sucked. I hated it with every fiber of my being and I had planned to leave as soon as possible, but something stopped me. That something was seeing Alice as big as a whale after being there for five months. I knew something had happened between her and my brother, but didn't really think on it until that moment. It was then that I confronted her about it and she confessed that she did indeed sleep with my brother. She told me she was putting the baby up for adoption and was going to leave without even looking back. Her 'destiny' was meant to be spent with Hal Cooper. I laughed in her face and walked away. The moment she had him it was close to a year away from being free of the hell hole. I had decided that I would raise him in my brother's stead. He need to be with family and I would be the one to do it. Well I turned eighteen and got a job, got stable and went back to the orphanage. I filled out the papers did the background check and passed. I got him that day and we went home. I was under a year probation to show them that I could make it with him. He was two when we left for New York City. It was the hardest thing I had ever had to do. I took odd jobs and saved some money. I got lucky when I finally got a stable job in a publishing house. I was happy that I was able to provide for him. We lived in a shelter for the first four years there. Then from apartment to apartment until I finally bought a house. I loved every minute of it. That boy is mine no matter what. But he has a right to know his family. He's called me Aunt Aryann since he was eight when he first talked to your dad on the phone. Your mom answered once and he asked to talk to his dad. She laughed happily and gave the phone over. See your mom was the only person I had ever told of his existence and she was happy that her husband's child was being raised right. Your mom's a softy when it comes to kids." She said all this while her eyes stared into his.

His heart was beating and breaking at the same time. "Why did dad not mention you or Charles?"

"He didn't want you to feel inferior. He wanted you and Jellybean to be able to know he loves you for you." She said as certain clarities reached him. "He sent me pictures of you and Jellybean all the time. I've got them all, school pictures, everyday pictures. They're in a couple of scrapbooks back in New York. If I had known he had gotten this bad when I had last called, I would have been down her to get you and your sister."

"Really?" He asked skeptically.

"Yes, really." She said seriously. "Alright, Kid, I know you don't know me from Eve, but you gotta believe me when I say that I have watched you grow from afar. Who in the world do you think it was that gave you all of those novels you got growing up? Your dad? Your mom? No, Kid, that was me. Where did you think you got your knack for writing from?"

It was at that moment that her phone rang and it startled him. He jumped and looked to the phone. She nodded to it and he glanced to the screen to see his brother's name. He answered it slowly. "Hello?"

"You don't sound like Aunt Aryann. Must be Jughead." The voice that was similar to his own said.

"Yeah, that's me." He said as Aryann smiled to him and stood from her kneeled position. She gave him a wink ad walked to the back of the trailer.

"So, Jughead, it's nice to finally talk to you." He said in a happy voice.

"Yeah, look, Charles, I just found out about you." Jughead said with a sigh and ran his hand over his face.

"Yeah, Aunt Aryann said she was gonna tell ya today. I was just hoping I caught you before you bolted out the door." Charles said with a laugh. Jughead found himself with a smile on his face. "Can I call you Jug? Jughead is a bit of a mouthful."

"Yeah, a couple of friends do." He said as Charles laughed slightly. "As long as I get to call you Charlie."

"That's fine with me. Aunt Aryann said that you're dating my sister. How'd that happen?" He asked as Jughead coughed slightly.

"It just did. We didn't know about you." He said quietly.

"It's all good, bro. Just teasing you." Charles said as they continued to chat.

"Jug." His Aunt's voice came from the kitchen. He hadn't even noticed that she had finished cooking.

"I'm gonna run this over to the station. Told your dad and Tom that I'd bring some food by again." She said as Jughead nodded. "I'll be back in a bit."

He continued to chat as Aryann maneuvered her way outside. She continued on to her truck and had the food inside when out of nowhere someone came up behind her. The survival instincts she had kicked it and she hit the person behind her with her head.

"Ow! Shit, woman! That fucking hurts!" She knew that voice. She turned quickly to see Tall Boy.

"What the fuck are you thinking, dumbass! I could have killed you. I've done it before and I'll do it again!" She growled at the tall man she had known since they were kids.

"I just wanted to talk, geez woman calm down." He grunted.

"You don't ever sneak up on me, asshole." She said before she shut the door to the truck. "What do you want?"

"Your brother's head on pike, if possible." He said with a smile.

"You watch your next words carefully, Tall Boy!" She warned. "Say another thing about my brother and you won't have to worry about what FP is gonna do to you, but me. I may have left, buy I'm still a Serpent. Born and bred."

Tall Boy backed away for a moment before he laughed loudly. "Just wanted to see if you still had it in you, Ant. Calm down, was just checkin."

"Don't play with me, Tall Boy. I wasn't scared of you then, I ain't scared of you now." She said before she turned around and went back to what she was doing. "Now I gotta go. Leave the boy alone."

She turned over the engine and sped off as she left him in the dust. He scowled. One more problem for him to take care of.

She made it to the station without any further interruptions. She greeted Tom and handed him his plate before she made her way to the back where the cells were.

FP was lounging on the bed when the steel door opened to reveal his sister. "Food for your thoughts?" She asked and he laughed.

"That is a sight for sore eyes." He said as she handed him the plate. Tom had brought him a folding table to place in his cell, because he knew that as long as Aryann was in town they would be eating good.

"Look, brother. Jug and I leave tomorrow. We'll be gone a week. Think you can hold out for a little while longer?" She asked as they both ate.

"Where's he at now?"

"Home. I left food for him there. He was talking to Charles when I left." She said before she took a mouthful of noodles of the spaghetti she made.

He froze momentarily. "It's strange, but a good strange I think." He said before he dug into his food and silence reigned.

Jughead told his brother bye and heard a knock on the door. His Aunt was gone and had been gone for the last hour. He moved to the door and opened it to see Betty.

"What are you doing here?" He asked curiously.

"I wanted to give you something before you left." She said as pushed him into the trailer. They moved to sit on the couch and she pushed him down. She straddled him and he looked up at the girl loved.

"What was that you wanted to give me?"

"Me." She said before her lips descended on his.

Veronica and Archie looked to one another as they drove back to the north side of town. He knew he shouldn't have done this, but his best friends needed their time together. "Well, Archikins, I'd say we did our good deed for today. How about you take me home so I can sleep." She said with a wide smile.

"I just hope his Aunt doesn't catch them." He said with a smirk.


	4. Chapter 4

Charles Julien Jones sat at the dining room table with a picture of his brother in his hand. Said hand shook with an anxious feeling that he felt deep within himself. He remembered the text he had received from his aunt ten minutes ago. They would be there soon. Plus, he was starving, as always. His stood to hunch over the table and looked at the case file that his Aunt had sent him over his dad's case. He had been studying law for over ten years. He sighed to himself as he thought over all that had happened since they moved here.

He had known that all he wanted to do since he turned ten was to be a lawyer. Not just any lawyer, but a defense attorney. He was in his fourth year of college and would be admitted to the NY Law School, but he would have to attend two years online. The next two years will be nothing but online classes. Then the last two years he would be stuck on campus. It was a favor to his Aunt that the Dean of NYLS had gifted him two years for online courses alone. It was unfair to others, and he wasn't a special case, but his Aunt Aryann had strings and the pull to get it done. It had amazed him and he wondered how much of a donation to the school funding she had given for him to be able to do this. He knew she had clout with the education system in NYC, but he was unsure of just how much she had. Until his information packet hit his desk.

He had sent the case to a friend of his in a law firm in the Bronx that handled cases like his dad's. Darren had advised him on what to do when he gets to Riverdale and he was determined to see his father freed of a crime he didn't commit. Especially since his brother had gotten thrown in the crosshairs by the bastard that had done it.

When his aunt called and told him of jump drive she and Joaquin had found in the pocket of the Blossom boy's jacket. He jumped on it and had her send him a copy via secure courier. The moment he watched it and seen it all he had Darren come over and analyze it, just to make sure he wasn't over analyzing it. Darren then changed the game plan and had contacted a friend of his that worked for as a lawyer on the Upper Eastside. Darren's friend said that since it was a localized case, he could only consult. Charlie knew that was better than anything they could have asked for. Since Darren had known exactly how to work a situation to better his client he sent a friend of theirs, Attica Grange, to Riverdale to start the defense. This would more than likely bleed his dad dry if it was anyone else, but they all knew his Aunt from growing up with Charles in New York City, they would do all they could to help her out. Even if that meant to get his father off of a murder charge.

Charles' bright blue eyes read over the case when he heard the front door rattle and then open. "Charles, we're here." His Aunt Aryann yelled as a smile graced his lips. He moved forward and intercepted her and his brother in the hallway.

"Aunt Aryann. Jughead." He said with a smile.

"Charles I swear. What have you been doing?" She asked with a soft smile on her face.

"Going over the case files. Attica is already on her way to Riverdale and Darren, and Reese are on their way too. It's going to be fine. He's got two Law students, well 1 ½ law students. And Two full time Lawyers on his case now." Charles said as he looked to his brother. "Want to know the awesome part?"

Jughead took in his brother and slowly nodded his head. "They're working pro bono because they all love Aunt Aryann."

Jughead looked to his aunt to see her on her cell talking rapidly with whoever was on there. "So they're going to represent him?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be epic, dude. Seriously. These guys are the best at their firms and Attica is a beast in the courtroom." He said as Jughead felt hoe wrap itself around us heart. Charles slung his arm over Jughead's shoulders and steered him toward the kitchen. Their Aunt looked around the room.

"Aunt Aryann I'm hungry." Charles said as Aryann leveled him with a look.

"I figured you would be. You want some food too, Jug?" She asked with a smile.

"You don't have to ask me twice." Jughead said as he and his brother had snapped their heads to her with giant grins.

"How about Gray's Papaya? I could go for a dog right about now." Charles said as Jughead looked over to his brother in confusion.

"True. That sounds about right. We're not gonna stay the night here anyhow." She said as Jughead looked back to his aunt with confusion.

"We're not staying here?"

"No, silly Jug. We're heading to an apartment a friend of mine owns for the night. Then we're headed back home. The movers should be there when we get there." She said with finality as the three of them packed up the papers and pictures before they left.

Betty looked down at her phone and frowned. She wondered when Jughead was going to text her. She hadn't talk to him in six hours and it was bugging her. Kevin had called earlier that day to make sure she was okay and it was strange. Her friends were with her, but she wanted her boyfriend there.

"Elizabeth, come here now." She heard her mother call for her from down stairs.

She looked at her mirror and then rolled her eyes before she made her way down stairs. "Yeah, Mom?"

"I see you're moping about. I say it's good that they're gone. Even if only for the moment." Alice said with a smile.

"Mom, please, just stop." Betty said exasperated by her mother.

"Where did they run off too?" Alice asked her daughter.

"New York City. They had to go pick up someone." Betty said as she tried to evade her mother's questioning.

"Aryann's boy toy probably." She sneered as she turned around to grab a glass for some water.

"No, if you want to know so badly; they went to go pick up Ant's nephew, Charles." Betty said as if it was a common occurrence.

The sound of glass shattering snapped Betty's head to her mother. "W-what did you s-say?" Her mother asked in a stutter.

"They went to go pick up Jug's brother, Charles Jones. Why?" Betty said before she saw the ashen look her mother gave her.

"Charles?" Alice asked quietly.

"Yeah. He's F.P.'s oldest kid. Ant told Jug she found him in an orphanage after the mother gave him up. She adopted him and took him with her to New York. Why are you acting like this, Mom?" Betty said before she asked her mother of her peculiar behavior.

It was at that moment that Hal Cooper made his way into the house. He looked up to see his wife shaken and a broken glass on the floor. "Honey? What's wrong?"

"Aryann has Charles." She said and with that one sentence Hal Cooper's face started to change colors as well, except instead of white it was red.

"Dad? What's wrong and how do you two know Charles?" Betty asked curiously.

"I'll be back." Hal said as turned around and stormed off.

"Baby, let's sit down. I have somethings to tell you." She said quietly as the door slammed and she flinched.

Betty followed her mother and they sat down at their dining room table. The silence reigned as Alice fidgeted in her seat as she tried to come up with an explanation. When she realized that the truth would be the best way. "When I was young, I wasn't from this side of Riverdale. I was a Serpent. I did things I'm not proud of. Anyway, I went to school here as did everyone else because Southside didn't have a school yet. I met your dad and fell in love. When I turned eighteen, one drunken night, I did something I wasn't proud of. I slept with FP and got pregnant. I didn't tell him or your dad, but your dad found me on the night of the senior prom. Ant was already gone by then and I was already four months into the pregnancy. Anyway, I told your dad what happened and he told me to get rid of it. Your dad said we were not ready for a baby and I was ecstatic, but extremely sad at that. I loved your dad and he was willing to be with me, but I really didn't want to give up my baby. So I left and entered the Sisters of Quiet Mercy to have the baby. I saw Ant there and she sat with me sometimes to comfort me. I told her all that happened and then when I told her what I planned to do, she looked at me in disgust. I knew I deserved it. Hell, I was disgusted by the crap I spewed. I just couldn't stop my mouth. I figured if she hated me too, it would hurt as much when I had to let my _one_ true friend go. She laughed in my face and said 'Good luck with your life, Alice. Don't speak to me unless you have to ever again.' I knew she meant it too. She always meant what she said. One month later I had my baby and I named him Charles Smith. I left and never looked back." Alice confessed all the while she felt the tears roll down her cheeks from years of being pent up. The floodgates had opened and the sobs that had been caught in her throat were now released and she grieved finally for the loss of her son.

Betty sat there in shock. She couldn't think on how to process this. Her mom and FP had a son. Ant found out and raised him. It was like out of a novel. Her phone beeped after several minutes and she looked down. There was a message from Jughead. She opened it and downloaded the attachment. After a moment it show a picture. It was of Jughead, Ant and whom she guessed was Charles, as they stood in front of Gray's Papaya restaurant. Jughead had a smile so big that she wondered if his face hurt. He seemed so happy with his brother and Aunt. It made her smile. She studied the picture of Charles and saw the striking blue eyes of her mother in them. She turned to see her mother was dabbing her eyes with a napkin and cleared her throat. "Mom?"

"Yes, Betty?" Her mom answered.

"Look." Betty said as Alice looked up to see the picture and her mouth fell open in shock.


End file.
